Idiographic and Nomothetic Approaches to Psychological Investigation Flashcards
(10 cards)
what is the idiographic approach
The idiographic approach studies individuals in depth, focusing on unique
insights rather than generalising across populations. It is qualitative,
prioritising rich, detailed data over numerical analysis, using methods like case studies and unstructured interviews.
what is the psychodynamic approach - link to idiographic approach
The psychodynamic approach is idiographic, as seen in Freud’s case studies, such as Little Hans, where detailed personal accounts were analysed to
understand behaviour (Freud, 1909). Though Freud made general claims, they
were based on unique individuals.
link humanist approach to idiographic approach
The humanistic approach also follows the idiographic perspective, emphasising
personal experience and viewing individuals holistically, rather than reducing them to observable traits.
what is the nomothetic approach
The nomothetic approach involves the study of a large representative sample,
ideally selected using random sampling, in order to collect a large amount of
data to support a testable hypothesis.
The approach seeks to formulate general laws of behaviour that apply to
everyone, this is also the goal of the scientific approach in Psychology.
what does the nomothetic approach favour
The nomothetic approach favours quantitative research methods that are
based on numbers (measures of dispersion, measures of central tendency, graphs and statistical analysis). Such calculations require data from a large group of people rather than individuals.
Research studies may involve as few as 20 people but normative research, such
as establishing the norms for IQ tests, involves thousands of people.
what is the biological approach seek to portray
The biological approach seeks to portray the basic principles of how the body
and brain work. In the past they have made the mistake of only studying men
and assuming that their findings can be generalised to women e.g. the fight-or-
flight response.
what does the behavuorist approach produce
The behaviourist approach produces general laws of human behaviour.
Behaviourist research may not have involved thousands of human participants,
but they were seeking one set of rules for all human and non-human animals.
how is the cognitive approach also cognitive
The cognitive approach is also nomothetic in its aim to develop general laws of behaviour which apply to all people, such as understanding memory processes.
The cognitive approach does use case studies, such as HM and KF, but these
are required because in order to understand the working of a normal mind it is often necessary to look at abnormal cases.
strengths of idiographic approach
The idiographic approach provides rich, in-depth insights into individual cases,
which the nomothetic approach cannot. Allport (1961) argued that
understanding a person as an individual is key to predicting their behaviour in
specific situations.
+ Some idiographic methods, such as case studies and thematic analysis, can
be scientific and objective. Qualitative research uses reflexivity—a process
where researchers critically reflect on biases affecting both participants and
themselves—to enhance validity.
weaknesses of idiographic approach
The idiographic approach lacks scientific rigour, leading to criticism,
particularly of the humanistic approach, which was seen as insufficiently
evidence-based. This concern contributed to the rise of positive psychology, which aims to be more empirical.
- The idiographic approach has limited generalisability: While it provides deep
insights, the idiographic approach struggles to make broad behavioural
predictions, which are often necessary. For example, developing personalised
therapy for every individual with a mental illness would be impractical. However, Allport (1961) suggested that once enough case data is collected, general predictions can be made. - The idiographic approach is time-consuming and costly: Both idiographic and nomothetic approaches gather large amounts of data, but idiographic research focuses on one individual, making it slower and more expensive. In contrast, nomothetic research gathers smaller datasets from larger groups, allowing for quicker, more efficient analysis through questionnaires and statistical tests.
